Hand-setting mechanism for timepieces



S. W. BALCH.

HAND SETTING MECHANISM FOR TIMEPIECES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.23. 1920.

1,375,348. Patented Apr. 19, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

In ven tot;

S. W. BALCHJ HAND SETTING MECHANISM FOR TIMEPIECES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-23, 1920.

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SAMUEL W. BALCH, 0F MON'ICLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

HAND-SETTING MECHANISM FOR TIMEPIECES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 19, 1921.

Application filed September 23, 1920. Serial No. 412,281.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL BALGH, a

citizen of the United States of America, and

a resident of Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hand-Setting Mechanism I for Timepieces, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a timepiece having a seconds hand with means for concurrently setting all of the hands by the setting backward or forward of the driving mechanism without introduc ing any disturbance that would tend to alter its rate by adding to or taking from the power delivered to the balance wheel during the setting of the timepiece. A further object is to provide for a record of the amount of the setting. A further object is to provide means for reading the time which the timepiece would otherwise show if it had not been set.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings which form a part of this application- Figure 1 is a view of the face of a tlmepiece which embodies this invention.

Fig. 2 is a section through the works and case on the line IIII of Fig. 4, including the setting and winding mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a section through the works on the lines III-III of Figs. 4 and 5, including the winding indicator and time train excepting the intermediate between the mlnute and hour-hand arbors.

Fig. 4: is a plan of that portion of the works which is contained in the main frame, the spur gears being indicated by dotted circles.

Fig. 5 is a plan of that portion of the works which is contained in the auxiliary frame.

In the drawings the number of teeth is attached to each of the gears and where there is more than one gear with the same number of teeth a letter is added to distinguish so that these numbers may be used as reference indicia in the following description. It is obvious that the required gear trains may be made up in many different ways and have the required ratios between the several hand carrying arbors.

The timepiece carries the usual minute hand 0, hour hand 9, and seconds hand y', and the dials; the motive power, controlling means, and connecting gear train may be of any usual type. The arbors for the several hands and for the connecting gearing are mounted in a main frame m. As shown, the train in the main frame comprises a spring barrel with a gear 50 meshing with a pinion 8 on an arbor with a gear 40 meshing with a pinion 15 frictionally carried on the minute-hand sleeve and attached to a gear 66 meshing with a pinion 11 on an arbor with a gear 70 meshing with a pinion 7 on the seconds-hand arbor. The minute-hand sleeve also carries a pinion 15 meshing with a gear 40* attached to a pinion 10 which meshes with a gear 45 attached to the hourhand sleeve. To sh ow the amount which the spring has run down a pinion 15 attached to the spring post meshes with a gear 45 attached to a revolving wind-indicating dial (Z, and a pinion l5 attached to the spring-barrel meshes with a gear 45 on an arbor with a pointer to which indicates on the wind-indicating dial. The timepiece is controlled by a balance wheel Z operating through a lever is, which parts constitute the controlling means and release the escape wheel. A pinion 6 on the escape-wheel ar bor engages a gear 48 on the arbor with the seconds hand. The controlling means is mounted in a circularly adjustable auxiliary frame a. This auxiliary frame is mounted on the back of the main frame and there is an opening through the two frames in the axis of adjustment through which passes one of the arbors of the connecting gear train between the escape wheel and the seconds hand, in this case the arbor which carries the seconds hand. One plate of the auxiliary frame is a gear 48 and it is engaged by a pinion 16 on an arbor which is turned through a knob 0 and bevel gears 20, p. The dial of the timepiece is cut out concentrically with the seconds hand arbor and under the circular opening is a circular disk t with a setting indicator in the form of a mark .9. This disk carries a gear 4:8 and is engaged by a pinion 16 on the arbor with the pinion which engages the auxiliary frame. As the arbor about which the auxiliary frame is adjustable is the one to which the seconds hand is attached, the gearing is such that the setting indicator is in one-toone ratio to the auxiliary frame.

What I claim, is-- 1. In a timepiece, hands therefor, controlling means therefor, a main frame with bearings for the hand arbors., a connecting gear train, an auxiliary frame by which the controlling means is carried and which is circularly adjustable about the axis of the second hand arbor for setting the timepiece, a setting indicator, and connecting means between the auxiliary frame and the setting indicator by which the setting of any por tion of a minute is indicated.

2. In a timepiece, hands therefor, controlling means therefor, a main frame with bearings for the hand arbors, a connecting gear train, an auxiliary frame by which the controlling means is carried and which is circularly adjustable about the axis of the second hand arbor for setting the timepiece, a setting indicator having the same axis as the seconds hand, and connecting means between the auxiliary frame and the setting indicator by which the amount of the setting is indicated on the seconds dial.

3. In a timepiece, hands therefor, controlling means therefor, a main frame with bearings for the hand arbors, a connecting gear train, an auxiliary frame by which the controlling means is carried and which is ircularly adjustable about the axis of the second hand arbor for setting the timepiece, a setting indicator having the same axis as the seconds hand, and a connecting train between the auxiliary frame and the setting indicator which has a one-to-one ratio.

SAMUEL W. BALCH. 

